Wide-Angle Lenses
Wide-angle lenses cover an angle of view greater than 60, capturing scenes that are wider than normal. The wide-angle focal lengths also have the ability to expand the space between objects that are in the foreground and those in the background, making the whole scene seem bigger. » More: Lens types
Archive for the ‘Photography tips’ Category
Lens types
April 13th, 2009Prime vs. Zoom Lenses
April 13th, 2009Lenses come in two types: prime lenses and zoom lenses. Prime lenses have only one focal length, and are sometimes called fixed focal length lenses. The two names are interchangeable. Prime lenses are easier to make because they have to be sharp only at one focal length, making the optics a whole lot simpler than their zoom counterparts. Zoom lenses cover a range of focal lengths, » More: Prime vs. Zoom Lenses
Accessories to Control Light
March 31st, 2009Sometimes you can’t wait for the perfect light, and the only option is to modify the existing light. There are two excellent tools which every photographer may use to modify light: diffusers and reflectors. » More: Accessories to Control Light
Photography and light
March 30th, 2009Supplemental Light
Supplemental light is the light which you bring to the scene. Using supplemental light may give you an amazing control over the photographs. When using supplemental light, you can control the color, direction, intensity, and diffusion of the light. The two main examples of supplemental light are the small dedicated flash units and studio lights. » More: Photography and light
Red eye and Red-eye reduction
March 30th, 2009Red eye is a phenomenon that has affected every photographer at some time or another. It is the glowing red eyes caused when the light from a flash is reflected off the blood vessels in your subjects’ retina. Red eye may ruin even the best photo. The closer the flash is to the lens, the more likely there will be red eye (which is why red eye is a very common problem on point and shoot cameras). As the distance between the flash and the lens increases, the chance of red eye decreases. » More: Red eye and Red-eye reduction
Light types
March 29th, 2009Available Light
Available light is any light that exists in the scene naturally. This can be the sun in the sky or a neon sign. Just think of it as light that is already there, that you are not likely to be able to do anything to change. » More: Light types
The Diffusion of Light
March 29th, 2009When the light rays are scattered by being reflected or by passing through a translucent material that light is diffused. Diffused light provides a more even light and softens shadows in your photograph. You can diffuse artificial light using utensils such as reflectors, diffusers, umbrellas, and softboxes. You can also use diffusers and reflectors to help soften natural light. However, for natural light, the best diffuser is a strong cloud cover, which lessens the intensity of the sunlight as it reaches your subject. » More: The Diffusion of Light
The Color of Light
March 13th, 2009In photography, the light source plays an important part in the color of the photograph, because light emitted by various light sources has different colors. Photographers use color temperature to describe the dissimilarities in the color of light. The Kelvin scale is used to calculate the color temperatures of light » More: The Color of Light
Light Direction
March 13th, 2009The direction of the light is significant as it determines where shades fall. The shadows are what create depth in a photo, and if the direction isn’t just right, you ought to either move the subject to change the direction of the light or wait for the light to move. The direction of the light can either bring out the details in your subject or hide them. Light can hit a subject in four distinct directions. » More: Light Direction
The Intensity of Light
March 13th, 2009The intensity or brightness of light depends on how far the subject is from the light source and the size of the source of light. The closer the subject is to the light, the brighter or more intense the light will be. » More: The Intensity of Light
Composition A-Z
March 9th, 2009Composition is what goes into, the placement of, and what is left out of the objects within the photo. With the auto exposure and the great exposure metering in today’s state-of-the-art cameras, together with the new fast auto focus lenses taking care of keeping the subject in focus, the most significant difference between a good photograph and a great photograph is often the composition. » More: Composition A-Z
Controlling Exposure
March 1st, 2009As the photographer you are often able to control the quantity of light reaching the sensor by altering one or several of the four factors that affect the exposure. If each of the four factors only affected exposure, life would be simple; but changing the light, ISO, shutter speed, and aperture all have other consequences. » More: Controlling Exposure
Understanding focal length
February 28th, 2009To put it simply, focal length is similar to a magnification factor. The longer the focal length (the larger the number in millimeters), the closer it will appear that you are to your subjects, and the narrower the view will be. A short focal length will allow you to see a widerangle view and make it appear that you are further away from your subject. Focal length, in technical terms, is the distance in millimeters between the surface of the image sensor and the center, or » More: Understanding focal length